Grammy and Grampup Meet Lily

Grammy and Grampup came back down South from their rest and relaxation in Michigan to meet Lily, grandchild #3, first granddaughter, for them.  I'm not sure who enjoyed their visit more, Will because he had someone to play with 24/7 or Ben and me, who enjoyed both their company and the much needed distraction from the newly exhausting (but fun) world of having two children.  While we really enjoyed watching Grammy and Grampup enjoy meeting Lily, we especially appreciated the fact they went out of their way to make Will feel important, which is hard for new parents to do in those first few weeks of having a newborn who stays up ALL NIGHT LONG.  We really treasured our time with Grammy and Grampup as we knew we wouldn't be able to get up to Michigan this summer.  Their next visit will be around Thanksgiving when they come back down South to thaw out a bit.  I think the pics below paint a good picture of what a fabulous time was had by all!

Mother and Son

Playing with canoes in the sink.  (sorry for bathroom shot, but too cute to pass up.)

Sleepy time with Grampup

Painting dinosaurs

Snuggle time with Grammy

She didn't have to tell this one to "stuff it."  Ha!

More snuggle time!

Water fun

Smiles with Grampup

Aww

Proud Grandparents

Happy Mother's/Baptism Day!

This was a very special Mother's Day for me.  Not only was it my first Mother's Day as a mom of two sweet children, but also we had our sweet girl baptized today.  And as an added bonus, we got to spend the occasion with both of our moms as Grammy was visiting from Michigan.  What a blessed day!

Godmother:  Carrie (Proxy, Jan); Godfather:  Philip

Nonna and Poppa

Grammy and Grandpup

The Hoover Clan

Sweet Babies

The Baxter's Meet Lily!

This weekend, Aunt Carrie, Uncle Ryan, and Carson braved the lengthy road trip from Frisco to Lafayette to meet Lily.  As you can imagine Lily was pretty much a bump on a log still being so young, but Carson was quite the entertainment as it was the first time we got to see him crawl in person.  Will was particularly enthralled with Carson, probably thinking that he was way more fun than Lily whose favorite activities are eating, sleeping, and pooping.  We were especially excited to witness Carson's first festival experience as it was Festival International de Louisiane this weekend.  We had a great visit and can't wait to see the Baxter's again very soon!

Yay for beautiful babies

Carson's Favorite Uncle

These two are trouble

Loving me some Carson hugs

Pure sweetness.  (Excuse my face.  I was clearly moved by the gesture.)

Memories being made

Sis in Laws :)

Siblings

Will sure does love cuddling with his little sister, and Lily sure loves watching her big brother play.

Daddy's New Model

For my 31st birthday I decided to get something that I could really use a lot both immediately and over the next several years. Seeing as I haven't had much experience in portrait photography and frankly have inadequate equipment for it, I chose to get a new Canon external flash for my camera. This way I can take tons and tons of photos of my new baby girl. So far, she's been a great model... hardly any diva qualities what so ever. I'm looking forward to photographing her and her brother with my new toy. Here are a couple shots from our first photo shoot with the new flash.

She slept for nearly the whole photo shoot...

Except for this one photo.

Lillian's Nicknames...

Maybe it's just our family, but there's something about giving little kids an endless amount of nicknames. Lillian is no exception. This list will continue to grow I'm sure. Here is the list of names that we've given our little girl... so far!

1. Lily
2. Little Bean 2.0
3. Lil
4. Poopie
5. Lilster
6. Lily Semmel
7. Liddy
8. Sassy McMuffin
9. Hey Beautiful
10. Cuite Pie
11. Sweet Girl
12. Sweet Angel
13. Sassy Pants
14. Little Bit 
15. Angel
16. Sassafras 
17. Fussy Britches 
18. Goose(y)
19. Tooterboot

Today was my due date!